Raw Elimination Chamber Match: Punk v Ziggler v Jericho v Kingston v Miz v R-Truth

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE.com has already announced the participants for the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the ppv. They'll probably also announce the match on Raw tonight. CM Punk will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, The Miz & R-Truth.

On the surface, Kofi Kingston is easily the one guy that doesn't really seem as though he belongs in this match. After all, he's still one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, but Evan Bourne's stupidity has messed up a pretty good thing. At the same time though, Kofi Kingston is damn entertaining to watch inside the ring. There's a shitload of talent in this match and I have little doubt that it'll deliver.

 

[Ithil]

Kofi isn't one of the Tag Champions, they lost them to Primo/Epico a few weeks ago.

Seems to me Kofi has been plugged straight into John Morrison's role from last year, do some cool spots then get eliminated. Same at the Rumble.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Looking at the participants, this will probably be a pretty entertaining match. I like that they're continuing the Miz and Truth storyline (can't decide if they should involve the US belt in that feud or not) and I like that Ziggler staying in the main event picture.

I know we all thought that Jericho would win the Rumble and we were wrong but in looking at this match, to me, it 100% guarantees that it will be Punk vs. Jericho at Wrestlemania for the belt. I think there's an outside shot Jericho will be the champ heading into Wrestlemania and Punk will actually be the challenger utilizing his "rematch" clause.

 

[The Crock]

Interesting stuff here. I can split all the guys into groups right now, with Punk/Ziggler, Miz/Truth, and Jericho/Kofi as the wildcards. The emphasis will be on Punk and Ziggler in all likelihood, but Jericho is a legitimate threat. Miz seems to be in the upper midcard right now, with Truth and Kofi below him, so I don't see them making an impact. Then again, Kofi Kingston can really benefit in this opportunity. If he impresses in this match, he can make his way up the card again. Kofi's got lots of talent and a unique look/move set as well, this type of environment may be perfect for him to shine.

As of right now, I see two plausible scenarios: CM Punk retaining or Chris Jericho leaving. Even if it's plausible, the Jericho win seems like a long shot, so I'll go with Punk retaining. Punk vs Sheamus or even Punk vs Jericho (Jericho can make his way into that match) at WrestleMania seems likely, but I can't see Punk not involved in the WWE Title mix. Ziggler has had a great stretch here, but he's not ready for the title yet. Even with Laurinaitis getting involved (which may not happen, pending tonight's Raw), I can't see him winning.

 

[Harthan]

It's a good composition of wrestlers for this match. I like the fact that everyone is of the smaller, athletic type, which should let this match stand in good contrast to the SD match which will almost undoubtedly contain Big Show, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett, and Randy Orton. The two matches should have a decidedly different flavor to them, which is a good touch. I expect this to be an excellent Chamber match as they usually are.

As for winners, it's a little tough to call right now. I think we can probably rule out Kingston entirely, who's mostly just a warm body here. Truth or Miz would be drastic changes in direction, but then again, so was Sheamus winning the Rumble last night. The likelier odds, though, are on Punk, Ziggler, or Jericho. Ziggler is probably the least likely of that trio, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility for him. It may be that Jericho and Punk will get into it and Ziggler will sneak in and steal the win. I could see the WWE wanting to do this to set up an opponent for Sheamus at WrestleMania. He'd match up brilliantly with Ziggler, but it would be a little bit of an odd match from a storyline perspective. The two more likely candidates here are Jericho and Punk. There are rumors about that the WWE is looking at a Punk/HHH match at WrestleMania, which would probably not include the title. The logical thing to do, then, is to place the belt on Jericho and let him match up with Sheamus, as they previewed last night. On the other hand, they've also discussed Jericho vs Undertaker, which makes more sense from a storyline perspective in my mind, which could leave Punk to wrestle Sheamus, or again, provide an opportunity for Ziggler. Punk could also retain and wrestle Jericho for the title while Sheamus challenges the WHC, or Jericho could win and set up the rematch with Punk at Mania (a la Batista/Cena). So there seem to be a lot of roads that can be taken and if recent events are any indicator, the WWE probably won't decide until the night of the show, which leaves this all a little up in the air. I'll place my pick on Jericho, personally, but Punk and Ziggler are still solid shots.

 

[gwarren]

I'm not sold on it, it's just so random. You've got credible contenders in Punk/Ziggler/Jericho where all three have an equal chance of winning.

Miz/R-Truth could be a match on its own, seriously, why throw it in there just as filler? How have these two competed towards the title in anyway over the past 2 months?

Kofi Kingston, just wtf. He's just lost a championship, hasn't won a match in months. I get the whole spot monkey thing but I'd much rather see wrestling than a circus act...

I'd replace Miz/Truth/Kingston with Cena/Kane as they're both credible contenders in a rivalry (unlike Miz and Truth who are pretty uncredible atm) and Del Rio because he's far more of a threat than Kofi.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

On the surface, Kofi Kingston is easily the one guy that doesn't really seem as though he belongs in this match. After all, he's still one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, but Evan Bourne's stupidity has messed up a pretty good thing.

Don't feel too bad about this... It took me a full minute after reading to realize something was wrong with what you said. Epico & Primo just don't have anything interesting outside of their ring work going on, so I don't blame you for forgetting that they took the titles several weeks ago.

CM Punk will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, The Miz & R-Truth.

I don't have a problem with this match at all. With Evan Bourne suspendd, Kofi is simply going to fill John Morrison's old spot-monkey role in big matches. We saw it first in the Rumble last night, and I'm sure they'll use him for some cool stunts in the Chamber. It's a shame he's not taken more seriously, but at least they have enough faith in him to put him in the Chamber with a bunch of former World Champions!

The other match-ups going on in this Chamber match don't bother me either. Miz and Truth will continue their rivalry, leading to a big WrestleMania match when they inevitably stop each other from winning the title in the Chamber. Ziggler will be there to continue his feud with Punk, but Jericho is also there to take up the role when Ziggler fails yet again to capture the gold. It's simple transition booking in a multi-man match, and I have no real issue with it. Sure, I'd LIKE for something a bit more interesting to happen between Punk and Jericho, but I'm going to at least give them the benefit of the doubt and wait for something to unfold before casting too much judgement down upon them.

What really bothers me is the way they announced this, and will likely announce the match on Raw tonight. What did any of them do to earn a shot at the WWE title in the Chamber. Winning this match pretty much guarantees you a title match at WrestleMania, so you could say it is on par with the Royal Rumble. That being said, just handing out slots at random, over the internet, with no storyline build is just completely weak. For one, it kills momentum by announcing it on their website. There's NO reason to do that, when you could instead get a real response from the live crowd, or hype up the viewers at home. Furthermore, there's several weeks left until this PPV. Could they not have simply fought for contention, won a few matches, or done ANYTHING to deserve being put in the match?

It's not the Chamber I have an issue with, it's the stupid, lackluster booking that they constantly decide to run with. The internet = instant gratification, not real storytelling.

 

[The Deadly Viper]

I am loving this match, very interesting, however the choice of Kofi Kingston is an interesting one to say the least. But hey I guess there arent a lot of people who are more suited ( unless they do the thing like they did a few years ago where Edge took Kofi's spot). It seems from this that they are planning on continuing Miz and Truth, and Ziggler, Punk and Y2J all look good for this match. This could pretty confirm in my eyes that Y2J vs Punk's gonna happen at mania. However overall this match is looking great, already better than the rumble PPV as a whole

 

[vampirek]

I'm not sold on it, it's just so random. You've got credible contenders in Punk/Ziggler/Jericho where all three have an equal chance of winning.

Miz/R-Truth could be a match on its own, seriously, why throw it in there just as filler? How have these two competed towards the title in anyway over the past 2 months?

Kofi Kingston, just wtf. He's just lost a championship, hasn't won a match in months. I get the whole spot monkey thing but I'd much rather see wrestling than a circus act...

I'd replace Miz/Truth/Kingston with Cena/Kane as they're both credible contenders in a rivalry (unlike Miz and Truth who are pretty uncredible atm) and Del Rio because he's far more of a threat than Kofi.

What a terrible idea, firstly Del Rio is out injured.... why replace Kofi with someone who can't compete? Utterly stupid.

Secondly, why blow off Miz v Truth? Its a good way of continuing the feud for the last match to happen at Mania. In effect you are basically killing the feud and give them very little for Mania. Kane and Cena don't need the Chamber, we know the feud will have to end soon because of the Rock. Having them in the Elimination Chamber wouldn't end the feud and would mean blowing that on a normal Raw. Bad booking to say the least. Give them one more PPV match, end the feud and move to Rock v Cena.

Overall the 6 named work well, you have two feuds and two wildcards without messing up other feuds or finishing them at the PPV.

 

[xp3300]

I love how all 6 men in this match can "WRESTLE" Should be some great spots. Wish there were qualifying matches to earn the spot in the chamber in the prior weeks, rather then just naming them.

 

[josh4worldchamp]

i actually like this especially if they build it right they could have jericho claim that the end of the world as we know it has begun and could build kofi in by beating a few of the guys and showing that he can be a credible main eventer (which he can be) i like it it can help build jericho vs punk (maybe taker if the reports r right) and it builds kofi as a strong contender (hopefully not a spot monkey). Overall i like this match cause all 6 guys can actually go in the ring and itll be entertaining

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I thought it was interesting that they made a point of saying that john laurinitis made this match. Depending on where his angle goes tonight they could end up changing some of the participants or scraping the match (for now) to sell a battle for authority type of story

 

[The Eighties]

I don't think this match will actually happen, I think Punk will face Johnny Ace at EC and the chamber match will end up being a #1 contenders match once Sheamus announces he will be competing for the WHC at Mania.

 

[Topropecelebrating7]

Judging from the Kofi victory over Miz on raw I think we are going to see another Kofi push here, may not be a win at the chamber but this could start a legit feud for him even if he makes it to the last 2 men, he could win the MITB at mania and continue his rise, so I believe this match will be outstanding, I only watch Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble and Summerslam, but I am sold on this PPV already. I believe that one of the World titles will change hands at the chamber

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think Jericho's chamber door will mysteriously get "stuck" and then after everyone is eliminated and Punk is beaten down badly, SURPRISE, Jericho's chamber door opens and he beats up Punk a little then pins him for the belt.

It will make for a much better match at WM if we have Jericho winning the belt in a controversial manner with Punk furious and trying to win his title back at Wrestlemania. They can keep Johnny L involved in the storyline and possibly Stephanie McMahon.

If Punk retains at Elimination Chamber, how do they justify Jericho being the only one getting a rematch at Wrestlemania?

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

It's an interesting match up. It gurantees high impact moves and a lot of entertainment. Althought I wanted Punk to have a solid long title run, the fact that Jericho didn't win the Runble and competes in this match changes things a little bit. I believe that he is going to win in a heelish way in order to set thing ups for Punk vs Jericho at Wrestlemania.

Finally, I wouldn't be suprised if Del Rio pulls an Edge-like move like the one in 2009 and automatically puts himself in the match by taking out Kofi.

 

[Spider]

I found it interesting that the entire line-up consists of "smaller" wrestlers. This could work well with the chain structure, and we may see some good spots. Not predicting any men thrown through the glass however!

 

[Shotaro]

It will be a good match but if the plan is still for Jericho v Punk at WM28 then really the only decent endings are a controversial elimination for Jericho by someone other than Punk or Jericho winning. Either way though the match should be good unless there is a MAJOR swerve coming in the ending is obvious.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

WWE.com has already announced the participants for the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the ppv. They'll probably also announce the match on Raw tonight. CM Punk will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, The Miz & R-Truth.

On the surface, Kofi Kingston is easily the one guy that doesn't really seem as though he belongs in this match. After all, he's still one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, but Evan Bourne's stupidity has messed up a pretty good thing. At the same time though, Kofi Kingston is damn entertaining to watch inside the ring. There's a shitload of talent in this match and I have little doubt that it'll deliver.

I honestly believe that Kofi being in this match is WWE's way of saying "sorry" to him for Evan Bourne's stupidity. Poor Kofi was on a role with the being the tag champion and Even caused him to get the title stripped, not to mention be embarrassed by it. Sadly though, I see him being either the first or second guy eliminated.

With the way WWE is pushing Punk/Jericho now, I se these guys finishing it. Miz and Truth...either of them will eliminate the other. I see Kofi being taken out by Dolf. If Miz eliminates Truth, I can see Jericho eliminating him.

 

[XXJJ]

Kofi is just in there to do a couple of spots. He will be one of the first one's eliminated. Its not surprising he is in the EC chamber. Their really isn't another Raw babyface to choose.

 

[Da Solo]

I think it's a great lineup, possibly the best RAW chamber lineup since the inception of the '2-chambers-1-night' idea. They brought in fresh faces and I'm glad they didn't throw Cena and Kane in there. It would just erase the personal aspect of their feud.

My only hopes are that this starts a new main event push for Kofi and that they don't do that same stupid bullshit to R Truth like they did last year

 

[Paralyzer Z]

At first glance I was disappointed with this line up, then I slapped myself in the face for thinking that.

Kofi Kingston, The Miz and R-truth are three guys that have always exceeded my expectations. Every time I think that one of these guys isn't that great in the ring they prove me wrong. Pretty good line up other than that but let's dissect this shall we.

Punk and Ziggler are going to be the main focus of the chamber (assuming Jericho doesn't take Ziggler importance away in the next couple weeks). I am positive that these 2 will be consistent and once again make this match great. It's what most fans have come to expect from these 2 over the past half-year, I can see them being the last 2 but then again we have Chris Jericho. Jericho I am sure will be his fantastic technician himself and be on par with Dolph and Punk in terms of ring work. I can see these 3 being the final 3 in the match with Punk or Jericho scoring the win and heading onto Wrestlemania afterwards.

Kofi on the other hand, as I see it is in a similar position as John Morrison was 1 year ago. After what I saw in the Royal Rumble match I can safely say that this man is able to take far greater risks and preform more athletic moves that his moves set restricts him to. I can see Kofi going all out and doing crazy spots like Jomo and really make himself and his career in the process. If he has a great showing here and makes it into the final 3 or 4 I would be pleasantly shocked. Miz and Truth on the other hand are obviously there to eliminate each other. I think that their Wrestlemania match will be set up here with one or the other screwing each other after elimination. It would be hilarious if Truth was eliminated in a similar fashion as to previous years.

One thing that stands out to me here is that this EC is actually full of lighter guys. As opposed to heavyweights like Cena, HHH, and Orton that usually have been in the Raw chamber match it seems like this one will be faster paced. On the Smackdown side which will obviously be chocked full of large men (putting Bryan as the underdog once again) and more focused on slow and brutal spots. The diversity between the 2 matches will be interesting to see.

I say Punk or Jericho wins and they have their match at Wrestlemania.

 

[stujay]

i have to say i was rather disappointed with this line up for the elimination chamber. i was especially surprised to see kofi and r-truth in there. After looking at it for a bit i can see why the line up is the way it is....a) kane and cena have there domestic to finish. b) the miz is a main eventer and would make sense to continue the rivalry with r-truth in there even though they have no chance in winning...well r-truth doesnt anyway. c) kofi is very entertaining and he will be much like an RVD in the chamber, doing all that spider man chat!
i can see it going down to punk and y2j though. which in itself will be awesome, but very predictable. punk will win and then that sets up a good bit of feuding with y2j before wrestlemania!

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Somehow, someway, I believe Punk will be knocked out of this match early on. I DON'T think he will make it to the final two, and he won't walk out of the Chamber with his WWE Championship. It's obvious WWE plans to have Punk VS Jericho at Wrestlemania, so I expect these two to have very little or no contact at all during this match.

With all that said, I'm picking Jericho to win the title here. He will find a way to win the gold, and the build for Punk VS Jericho at Wrestlemania can begin afterwards. As far as everyone else goes, Ziggler might be the only, who could have a realistic shot at winning the title here. Ziggler has been riding a huge push for a while now, and he has spent some time in the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship picture. But I think Ziggler will be involved in some other plans at Wrestlemaina (possibly a spot in the MITB match). Truth and Kofi have no shot at winning this, and Miz is a former World Champion, but the chances of him going into Wrestlemania as the WWE Champion are very slim.

As far as the match goes, I'm expecting something good here. I LOVE Elimination Chamber matches, and this Chamber is filled with a nice set of athletic and fast wrestlers, who could easily produce some very impressive and memorable spots. As always, the Chamber matches should be fun, and I am really looking forward to this one.

 

[JWGunslinger]

This is going to be the chamber match to watch, this match is going to be packed full of talented guys and the key here is that it's going to be predominantly young athletic guys, we're going to get a very physical and exciting match. Like the Smackdown chamber match I believe there are two guys to expect to win, one who is a maybe and three who aint gonna do it. The key players are going to be Jericho and Punk with Dolph Ziggler right at their heels and then Kofi, Miz and R-Truth just there to give us an exciting match, which they definitely will. Chris Jericho and CM Punk are going to face off at Wrestlemania, that is going to happen and since it was announced that Jericho was originally supposed to win the Rumble I am betting instead of that they have him win the title here and build a match with Punk from now until Wrestlemania and that is going to be a privilege to watch. Now Punk could very well retain and just build the feud after this but I don't see that happening, and Ziggler is the wild card because he has show tons of potential lately but they wont have him win and throw a wrench in Punk vs Jericho.